Barcelona

A day at sea was very relaxing. (After what you could say was an hectic week.) I’m at happiest at sea anyway. But watching the sunset reflecting on top of the waves and just being able to disconnect with the world for more than 24hrs was incredible.

Resting for a day not having to do anything, or being able to go anywhere was nice for a change. I also managed to take a shower whilst on the boat – I had to dry myself with a T-shirt, but that’s okay. I’m classed as a traveller now so stuff like that I think are kind of acceptable! & Thankfully I had a great crossing, it wasn’t choppy at all. As the last time I took an overnight ferry I ended up in hospital! Don’t ask.

Arriving in Barcelona, floating around after being on a ferry for so long, I was back to having a mobile data. 2 days without internet connection unable to contact home you’d think messages would be flying through. Sadly I didn’t receive one single text message to see if I was alive and safe. Not even from my family. Nice to know you all care!

Although the amount of messages I got from my last blog saying ‘keep safe’ was unbelievable. Quite hilarious actually!

I made to Barca at 9pm, booked a hostel at 9:25, checked in at 10pm. So easy, the beauty of travelling during winter.

Having done Barcelona before. I just saw it as a stop over place on my way to France and took the opportunity to have a detox for a couple days. I got a 2 day gym, swim and spa pass. Had a few runs along the beach and made some healthy, tasty, home cooked meals.

What do I mean by a healthy home cooked meal? I bought a massive bag of salad to last my duration here, sprinkled cheese on top and added a few slices of chorizo & for breakfast: muesli. I was surprisingly satisfied!

Being away for around a month now, I had to say adios to my jeans! They are just so uncomfortable, totally had enough of them. I miss lounging around in joggers or shorts back home. So I went straight to the shops and purchased some comfortable trousers.

I also treated myself to a travel towel as the ferry was infact the second time on my trip I had to use a t-shirt! I always pick hostels that provide towels, usually at a price of €2, I’ve realised it soon adds up. So yes, if you are travelling definitely take your own towel. You probably think this is such an obvious thing to do, packing it in your bag first and I agree with you on that.

When I wasn’t exercising or eating salad, I spent my time by the beach watching the world go round. How else could I get my blog inspiration with being off the red wine. (The salad 100% wasn’t helping)!

Here’s me back to normal, under the palm trees, with a pineapple on top of my head after the gym. No cares in the world.

There was a group of topless guys playing football on the beach, thinking I couldn’t keep my eyes off them. I was in fact watching 6 golden retriever puppy’s all playing having fun behind them. They were so adorable, I just wanted them to run over to me!

I was also very happy surfer watching until a women decided to sit next to me and feed the pigeons. I HATE pigeons. I’m so scared of them. It was like the scene out of Home alone 2! I’d been here for a few hours and was forced to move. I didn’t want anymore pigeon poo on me today.. (on my way to do my laundry this morning) Lucky!? Only with the fact I was about to do my washing anyway. Otherwise not impressed.

European pigeons are 10x worse than back home. They’re so fearless. They don’t move out of your way (resulting in massive detours to avoid them) so much more unpredictable. I just can’t cope with them. Does anyone know any pigeon free places I can go to please? Many thanks.

I am actually in the middle of creating a European pigeon chart.. from each destination I’ve been to you’ll be able to evaluate on where you would like to travel to based on a 1-10 pigeon scale. If you’re like me, you’ll definitely benefit from this, I’m just trying to make life easier for you guys.

So no actual exploring of the city was done within my time spent here, however Barcelona impressed me the first time, it’ll always be one of my favourite places.

It has a great atmosphere, with lots to do. You can just chill by the beach with a sangria or go and visit the gothic quarter which is filled with bars, restaurants and just great for a wander. There’s a port or you can even catch the gondola up to the mountains to get the best view. I think it meets the needs of everyone really and it’s always sunny, well in my case!

I’ve had 2nights here but my third day I leave at 11:30pm so I can wake up in Marseille the next morning. It’s kind of cheating, but some advice for you: book a night bus when possible. You don’t have to pay for an extra night at your current hostel, but you’re still able to use the premises and leave luggage there too for free. The buses are cheap so you’re getting a free nights sleep at the same time. (If you can actually fall asleep on buses of course) & you wake up in a total new city where you want to be without wasting time during the day travelling.

Also the night bus tends to be more comfortable; more leg room, toilets onboard & have multiple charging ports as well as WiFi. It’s great. That’s coming from a person who hates public transport, I haven’t been on bus since high school.

Although news in from home that my car has been sold, so it looks like I’ll have to buy a bus pass once I get home. 😦 Thanks for the best time Alfredo. You’ve been great company for thousands and thousands of miles we spent together (mainly in traffic) trying to get up and down the m62! Our sing songs were the best.

Possibly the only traveller ever to spend a few months in Europe and come back richer! But It means I can do this whole thing all over again now.

Oh and to have gained weight, I just can’t stop eating!